The father of Raynham native and Medal of Honor recipient Jared Monti is continuing his work organizing the placements of flags for every grave at Massachusetts National Veterans Cemetery in Bourne.

“I am proud to be part of this great undertaking and proud of the many great Americans who give their time to honor our veterans,” said Paul Monti, whose son Jared Monti died at age 30 while trying to save a fellow soldier in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006, before being awarded posthumously with the Medal of Honor for his actions.

A flag placement is taking place on Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. at the cemetery in Bourne in time for Veteran’s Day. The effort, led by Paul Monti, is looking for volunteers to donate their time to help place flags at the graves of 56,000 veterans buried at the cemetery.

“We encourage family groups to attend and especially the young so as to educate them about the cost of their freedom,” Monti said. “Our program has so far been very successful and personally rewarding.”

After his son’s death, Monti fought for a change to a policy that didn’t allow flag placement at the Massachusetts National Veterans Cemetery in Bourne, where Jared Monti was buried. Receiving support from U.S. Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown, the Monti family along with a legion of supporters placed flags at graves within the cemetery for the first time for Memorial Day 2011.

“America is a great and free nation but we must always remember that freedom isn’t free,” said Monti, saying that the flag placement is the least Americans could do to honor a fallen veteran.

Monti said that since he started organizing the flag placement, which takes place on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, he has met others who like him wanted to place a flag at the graves of their loved ones.

“We get some really interesting stories of people who have long wanted to place a flag there,” Monti said. “We had an 82-year-old woman who was there last time. She had a husband who was buried there for 30 years. She couldn’t have been more thankful. She went all those years without putting flag on grave.”

Monti said he is continually inspired by the life of his son, who belonged to the Army’s 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y.

“His whole life, he loved people,” Monti said. “He loved making people happy. He loved doing things for people. He was a real humanitarian. He always gave of himself and was always trying to do the right thing for everybody else. He loved his fellow soldiers and that showed in all of the action he did.”

Monti said the responses from volunteers have been very positive.

Page 2 of 2 -
“It really is an act of love and it’s wonderful to see the people and themselves their reactions,” Monti said. “They are so happy to be doing what we are doing. From the family members who have relatives interred at Bourne, to the civic organizations, to the current and ex-service members who volunteer, everyone appears to find some joy and satisfaction in this endeavor. There are tears and smiles and warm happy thoughts. From the 82-year-old woman who got to flag her husband’s grave for the first time in 30 years, to the young children of preschool age who are so proud to participate, and all in between, it is a grand experience.”

The flag placement will begin with a a short ceremony at the cemetery’s Avenue of Flags at 10 a.m., before the actual placement of the flags. Volunteers are asked to bring a long-shanked screwdriver to aid in making starter holes for the flags to be placed in.

Volunteers are also needed to remove the flags on Nov. 18 at 10 a.m.

Operation Flags for Vets is a program of the SFC Jared C. Monti Charitable Foundation, which also gives out a scholarship. Donations to the foundation may be mailed to Paul Monti, 408 Center St., Raynham, MA 02767.